Friday, October 12, 2012

Friday Focus - Seasonal Alterations

Welcome! Marjie Kemper here, happy to be hosting this week's Friday Focus. The featured products this week are the "seasonal" Alterations, which are all on special sale this week at 15% off. These include all the Sizzix dies and texture fades for your seasonal crafting... Halloween, Autumn, Winter, and Christmas.

I used one of the Sizzix Halloween Texture Fades (Backgrounds & Borders set) to customize this rather plain looking patterned paper into something more special for my layout. Initially I went with green paper, being in the mood for a monotone layout. I ran some matching paper through my Vagabond (you can use any die-cutting machine) and then remembered I should've used a shim. Sometimes when the paper is very thin, the cut is too strong and some of the white paper core shows through:

cut without shim

cut with shim (much better!)

I decided I preferred contrast for the layout, so switched to orange instead. After adding some text paper and a black mat, I distressed the edges and cut a window to fit my photo, turning the Fade into a frame:

I wanted to point out that you can use just parts of the Fades, as well as the whole. The one I am using comes with twelve words and the number '31'... lots of possibilities. I cut the 'trick or treat' line and made the letters 'pop' by running my black soot distress ink pad directly across the raised surfaces.

I colored the label from the file tab with orange distress ink and added some black ink to the paper through Tim's spiderweb mask.

My last step was to make a custom journaling spot for the year. I used the Mini Ticket die and Typeset alphabet die, as well as the metal File Tab and a ribbon and charm from my stash. The barbed wire chipboard is by Dusty Attic. I painted it black and attached with Tim's Tiny Attacher.

Be sure to check out the shop for all the new items, as well as the featured items on special this week. Thanks for visiting today!

Great layout Marjie, love how you have used the texture fade as a frame and the orange is stunning. Great spider web too and that barbed wire is a fabulous addition. The whole thing looks perfect on that plainish backing paper. Thanks for the how to as well! Crafty hugs, Anne x

I have to say that every time my paper sort of tears and the core shows I just think oh well and live with it. Never have I thought about using a shim. How basic and how stupid I feel! Lol! Thanks Marjie!!! Lol! Why can't we live closer? I need you! Love that spider mask. Somewhere I know I have one. This layout is wonderful! Love the contrast in colors!

Absolutely love the colors and the way you used the texture fade is brilliant. I wonder if you could explain to us how the shim helps keep the core from coming through the surface of the paper. To me, it seems like a shim would put even more pressure on the texture fade. Do you put the shim inside with the paper that is being embossed?

Yes, it's inside the folder, behind the patterned paper. It acts as a cushion between the raised part of the Texture Fade (the part that actually pushes forward, to dry emboss) so the shim gets the brunt of the 'push' from the fade.

This is awesome! The colors are so bright! I love the mix of green, orange and black! The texture fades are perfect. I am learning to use them more as they add great and easy texure. Thanks for the tutorial.Kate